Dortmund (H) - CL QF | Post-Match Thread

[kaz7]

We'll play better in the second leg (hopefully), and we'll score there.

I though we were poor tonight, never had any real control, in fact just as I thought we'd taken control they equalised.

We should go through, we are a better team, but we didn't show it tonight.

Several out of position again , joa or ky , zinchy lb for a start

 

[St.Pauli support]

Really hard to know if he could have done better on their goal; I thought he was unfortunate.

I actually think Eddie has been doing well all round recently.

Yes he has, but even him was a bit nervous when he didn't control the ball as good as he can and gave Bellingham the time to get to it first.
No clownery in a CL QF. Kick it up the stands, no problem.

We have to reduce mistakes dramatically to get to the final (finally) and the reason is located between our ears.

Anyway, we did improve compared to former nervy CL performances.
We have to reduce that attitude bit by bit til we are ready to boss those matches like - sorry to say - Bayern often did (not sure about tonight though). Our learning curve is just a bit longer...

 

[paulchapo]

I think nerves affect us in this competition and as a result mistakes creep in and being edgy impacts our normal rhythm. We do of course face a higher quality than most premier league teams and as a result any mistakes often result in a goal against. Keeping clean sheets in the home leg is crucial so it was disappointing to concede last night and again our missing chances may come back to haunt us. It's too tight to call, they have to score at least once to go through, which I think they'll do, I just hope we can pick them off as they push for the goal they need.

 

[ancoats]

I was impressed with Haaland. He didn't do much but he is an absolute presence when it matters.

It's very rare to see a striker occupy Dias and Stones, which gave the excellent Bellingham the space to thrive.

In our team, we would elevate to domination.

As for our showing, thought we looked a yard short, Bernie looked tired and when he was subbed, our midfield legs ran out.

Eddie really needs to buck his ideas up, it's been noticeable for months his kicking and decision making isn't as sharp as usual.

Thought Gundo was immense.

the power and size with pace he was scary for our back 4. he would rip apart the premier league teams. i was thinking about 30 goals a season but after last nights showing he could easy get 40 goals a season at city. haaland is the future and city must do everything possible to get him

 

[B\connellblue]

Other than the obvious, I thought he should have done better for their goal given he got a good hand to it. To be fair to the lad, it must be bloody difficult to keep 100% focus when it is called for only once or twice per game. He could bring a sofa on in some matches and only leave it once or twice.

He should definitely have done better for the goal. he got enough on it to stop it if the truth be told.

 

[bumbleblue]

Finally got the result. We were off it a bit should have had another. But we would have drawn or lost that in years gone by.... our fucking pitch doesn’t help us either. Ah well City are still alive here.... etc

 

[manimanc]

I was impressed with Haaland. He didn't do much but he is an absolute presence when it matters.

It's very rare to see a striker occupy Dias and Stones, which gave the excellent Bellingham the space to thrive.

In our team, we would elevate to domination.

As for our showing, thought we looked a yard short, Bernie looked tired and when he was subbed, our midfield legs ran out.

Eddie really needs to buck his ideas up, it's been noticeable for months his kicking and decision making isn't as sharp as usual.

Thought Gundo was immense.

I think Eddie is a bit bored at the minute with the odd bit of action every now and a again. :)

 

[Saddleworth2]

Really hard to know if he could have done better on their goal; I thought he was unfortunate.

I actually think Eddie has been doing well all round recently.

He got at least half a hand to it. His touch wasn’t strong enough. He will know he could have done better. Still wouldn’t swap him for anyone else though :-)

 

[Franny's toilet roll]

Really hard to know if he could have done better on their goal; I thought he was unfortunate.

I actually think Eddie has been doing well all round recently.

Probably the earlier kick in the bollocks stopped him stretching out completely

 

[ChicagoBlue]

So we need to stop them scouring while trying to score ourselves, and Dortmund need to score while stopping us from scouring . I think with your help I am beginning to understand European second legs.

A smart arse, lovely!

No, we do NOT “need” to score, but Pep doesn’t know how to play 4-5-1, as we have discovered in the QF multiple times! Ergo, we need to get the first goal or else if they score first they will batten down the hatches...because 1 goal is all they need!

My point was that if you think they will come out guns blazing and open wide, then you are mistaken.

In the first half, they played tight football. In the second, you saw how ONE STRAIGHT PASS (a la KDB to Aguero vs Liverpool) cut us open, left us 1 on 1 with Dias vs Haaland, and almost cost us dearly.

While we are certainly NOT in the position of having to score to win, I’m not sure we know how to play any different for 90 mins! 5-10 maybe, at the end of a long game where we are up by 1, but not 90! Therefore, Dortmund don’t NEED to open up and attack us from the get go

 

[ChicagoBlue]

We should have scored 4 so not that difficult to breakdown...

How many could they have scored?

 

[WallyA]

I don't know if this is a problem per se, but something I noticed about that Dortmund game is how high Dortmund were able to push their backline.

Because we had no speed from our front 4, they knew they could manage our runs from behind pretty easily, whereas we had to cope with Haaland's speed multiple times. Considering that Foden was probably our fastest player I can't blame that strategy as we didn't get much luck in this regard (No offence to Foden, he has gotten a bit faster over the years, but he doesn't have elite speed).

This meant our midfield dominant game wasn't as strong because they could also push numbers forward in the midfield, meaning we had less time on the ball. I think some of our players stayed on the ball too long and maybe didn't expect this.

In the next game, I think Sterling replacing Bernie/Gundogan and joining KdB as one of the false 9s or replacing Mahrez could be vital in getting behind that high line.

We still had chances in this game as Foden showed, but just an extra weapon to have to exploit them.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

The odds of Dortmund progressing were 4:1 before the game. They have come in to 11:2. So on that basis it was there night.

We have the lead but I think we will need to score and Pep will set us up to win the game. Feels a lot like the Monaco games. This lead is not enough. But we are a much better side now.

 

[bballchinaski]

I don't know if this is a problem per se, but something I noticed about that Dortmund game is how high Dortmund were able to push their backline.

Because we had no speed from our front 4, they knew they could manage our runs from behind pretty easily, whereas we had to cope with Haaland's speed multiple times. Considering that Foden was probably our fastest player I can't blame that strategy as we didn't get much luck in this regard (No offence to Foden, he has gotten a bit faster over the years, but he doesn't have elite speed).

This meant our midfield dominant game wasn't as strong because they could also push numbers forward in the midfield, meaning we had less time on the ball. I think some of our players stayed on the ball too long and maybe didn't expect this.

In the next game, I think Sterling replacing Bernie/Gundogan and joining KdB as one of the false 9s or replacing Mahrez could be vital in getting behind that high line.

We still had chances in this game as Foden showed, but just an extra weapon to have to exploit them.

yup, i was thinking the same thing yesterday, when city defends deeper its kinda easy for a top team to smother them. First, cause of the slow buildup, second, because of the lack of pace up front. Pep needs to tinker a bit with the gameplan/starting eleven if hes gonna drop deeper than usual against top sides

 

[ancoats]

I don't know if this is a problem per se, but something I noticed about that Dortmund game is how high Dortmund were able to push their backline.

Because we had no speed from our front 4, they knew they could manage our runs from behind pretty easily, whereas we had to cope with Haaland's speed multiple times. Considering that Foden was probably our fastest player I can't blame that strategy as we didn't get much luck in this regard (No offence to Foden, he has gotten a bit faster over the years, but he doesn't have elite speed).

This meant our midfield dominant game wasn't as strong because they could also push numbers forward in the midfield, meaning we had less time on the ball. I think some of our players stayed on the ball too long and maybe didn't expect this.

In the next game, I think Sterling replacing Bernie/Gundogan and joining KdB as one of the false 9s or replacing Mahrez could be vital in getting behind that high line.

We still had chances in this game as Foden showed, but just an extra weapon to have to exploit them.

maybe pep was playing a joker card last night and the 2nd leg he will play pace and sterling and jesus
the away leg was always going to be still alive even if we won 1.0 or 2.0 so pep has to earn his corn next week and get it right

there defence and the middle of the park holding midfield is there weak point and city will score next week
even if we have to open the game up and chase a goal we have options on the bench.

i remember pep saying its the away legs that are the making of a great team ? you have to go to places like madrid munich or dortmund and win then you start to believe your good enough

 

[nmc]

Really hard to know if he could have done better on their goal; I thought he was unfortunate.

I actually think Eddie has been doing well all round recently.

He had a good game overall last night.

 

[Gremlin]

The odds of Dortmund progressing were 4:1 before the game. They have come in to 11:2. So on that basis it was there night.

We have the lead but I think we will need to score and Pep will set us up to win the game. Feels a lot like the Monaco games. This lead is not enough. But we are a much better side now.

Is 11:2 (= 5.5:1) not worse odds than 4:1?

 

[WallyA]

The odds of Dortmund progressing were 4:1 before the game. They have come in to 11:2. So on that basis it was there night.

We have the lead but I think we will need to score and Pep will set us up to win the game. Feels a lot like the Monaco games. This lead is not enough. But we are a much better side now.

Am I reading those odds wrong? Hasn't it actually decreased for Dortmund?

4:1 odds = 1/5 chance of progressing = 20%

11:2 odds = 2/13 chance of progressing = 15.4%

 

[bigf42]

Is 11:2 (= 5.5:1) not worse odds than 4:1?

certainly was when I used to mark the board at the bookies

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

Just checking you are all awake.